The life of the special ministry was very short -- and the sound of a heavy gate clanging shut on it and on its once-inspiring minister was sad indeed. MICR emerged in 2003 after a small department was detached from the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The world was obsessing over electronic communications and it was clear that transport was not the right department.

Expectations were high. Electronic signatures, e-government, computer literacy... but in the end, just one suggested law went through parliament: the Law of Electronic Communications. It was a hugely significant law, but was weakly prepared and had more amendments than the state budget.

Former journalist Vladimír Mlynář (Freedom Union/US-DEU) was MICR's initial minister. He was an electronic communications specialist--but wasn't very communicative. Unable to answer questions, for journalists he was virtually unreachable. He was either in a meeting or... swimming. No kidding. When I called his spokeswoman, she often responded: "The minister's not able to speak to you, he's in the pool." On other occasions he was away at an important event, on a business trip or I-do-not-know-what.

Well, he swam his way to a permanent vacation and up stepped new minister Dana Bérová (also US-DEU). She wasn't a passionate swimmer but did look very glamorous on glossy paper, especially when telling a story about her beloved horse-riding.

In short: MICR could have been a powerful and key ministry. But the two ministers completely ducked the challenge. We could be praising them right now while marvelling at the electronic services of state-owned post office Česká pošta and hyperventilating over the usability of state Internet portals. Imagine how much simpler our lives could be!

Instead, we have Mlynář being sentenced for abusing public office in the Testcom servis case (See `Hefty sentence handed to Mlynář', CBW, Jan. 29, 2007) and unfinished, perplexing electronic signature and electronic registered letter schemes. And to top it all off, MICR's most important asset--its databases--are to be transferred to the Ministry of the Interior. Too much information held by people in one institution--and in one that has historically indulged in repression --could be very dangerous.

As he weighs his gains from a dead state body, the interior minister may become just a little thrilled by the databanks' potential. Apart from the sectors mentioned, MICR also spent plenty of time digging into the fields of telecommunications and public service.

Before the election, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek promised that the ministry would become a "small team" under the government. Looking at the useless exploits of Mlynář and Bérová, it's no wonder he proposed a shake-up and got a loud cheer for it. But now it's clear the interior ministry seized its big chance. It's become the big chief of electronic information. Don't ever take your eye off Big Bro. Not for one moment.

Irena Ryšánková is a parliament analyst for public broadcaster Česká televize